PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Columbia volleyball team fell just short of a comeback at Brown Saturday night, dropping the match by set scores of 18-25, 22-25, 23-25.

Columbia (5-16, 3-9 Ivy League) was led a strong offensive performance from sophomore Bailey Springer, who tallied a match-high 16 kills on the night, while first-year Cassie Wed fueled the defense with a career-best 22 digs.

Brown moved to 11-12 overall with a 7-5 Ivy League mark. The Bears were led by Maddie Lord’s 15 kills and .358 hitting percentage. Overall, Brown outkilled the Lions by a 47 to 41 margin.

In the first set, Columbia trailed early on but used a 4-0 run with kills by Springer and sophomore Katarina Jovicic to take over, 8-6. Brown outscored the Lions 4-1 over the next points to regain its lead. The score was knotted twice more before the Bears went ahead for good, building up to as much as a 10-point lead. With the score 24-14 in the Brown’s favor, the Lions rallied with four unanswered points. Tilton smacked two kills and a block, while first-year Kesi Neblett added another solo block to reduce Columbia’s deficit, but the Bears held on for the win.

A back-and-forth battle ensued early in the second set, but the Bears broke free from a 9-9 tie and led the entire way.

Springer got the Lions going in the third set, sparking a 4-0 run with a kill. Columbia stayed on top most of the set, but the Bears came back to even the score at 17-17. From there, the score was tied on three more occasions before Brown eventually broke away for good.

Up next, the Lions return home to Levien Gymnasium to host their last pair of matches of the season. Columbia will take on Harvard on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. before finishing out the year with a special senior night against Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.